Work to deliver new council housing in Leeds passes 1,000-home milestone

Work to deliver new council housing in communities across Leeds has passed a significant and impressive milestone.

More than 1,000 homes have now been built or acquired through Leeds City Council’s Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP), it can be confirmed today.

These good quality, energy efficient and affordable homes – for rent by people on Leeds’s housing register – underline the council’s determination to ensure that everyone in the city can enjoy the stability and sense of security that comes with having a safe, warm and welcoming place to live.

The total number of homes built or acquired through the programme for use as council housing currently stands at 1,116, with more than 200 of those being delivered during the 12 months to the end of March this year.

When schemes brought forward by registered providers such as housing associations or facilitated via section 106 developer contributions are also taken into account, the number of affordable homes delivered in Leeds during 2025/26 rises to 943 – the most for three decades.

And although the level of local demand for housing means there is still much to do, funds already committed for the 2026-2031 phase of the CHGP have left the council well placed to maintain its positive recent momentum.

New-build CHGP schemes that have been completed – despite challenging market conditions and the council’s own financial pressures – since 2020 include:

• A development in Middleton – comprising 100 family homes, 16 wheelchair-accessible bungalows and the 60-apartment Gascoigne House extra care facility – on land previously occupied by Throstle Recreation Ground and Middleton Skills Centre;
• A 55-home scheme in Gipton spread across sites on Amberton Terrace, Amberton Crescent, Amberton Street and Montagu Avenue;
• A development of 25 one-bed apartments and eight two or three-bed houses at Brooklands Avenue in Seacroft.

CHGP projects currently under construction, meanwhile, include a 65-apartment extra care development in Armley – on land once occupied by Middlecross Day Centre – and an 82-home scheme at Hough Top, in Swinnow, near Pudsey. When finished, all the new homes across the two sites will be available for affordable rent.

Planning applications have also recently been submitted for affordable CHGP developments at Richmond Road in Farsley, Wood Lane in Rothwell and the former site of the Kingsdale Court flats in the Boggart Hill area of Seacroft.

Council new-builds account for 43 per cent of homes delivered through the programme to date, with the remainder being acquired from private developers or owners.

The council’s latest acquisitions include 41 homes at Yorkshire-based housebuilder Persimmon’s wider Morwick Green development, which is taking shape off York Road on land split across the Cross Gates & Whinmoor and Harewood council wards.

Some of the homes have already been handed over and are now occupied by council tenants, with Leeds City Council leader Councillor James Lewis and Councillor Tom Hinchcliffe, the council’s executive member for transport and planning, visiting Morwick Green last week to see the results so far.

A further 42 homes have been acquired by the council at Persimmon development sites at Laneside Farm, in the Morley North ward, and Wellington Mount, in the Cross Gates & Whinmoor ward.

Support from Homes England’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme means all the properties purchased by the council at Morwick Green, Laneside Farm and Wellington Mount can be made available for social rent, the most affordable tenure.

The CHGP’s current 1,116 delivery figure includes five of these homes, with the other 78 set to be added to the total as they are completed and handed over to the council.

Built to exacting energy efficient specifications, the purchased properties are a mix of two or three-bed houses, two-bed bungalows and one or two-bed apartments.

The majority of the funding for the CHGP’s building and buying activity during its five-year first phase was provided by the council’s housing service via Right to Buy receipts and borrowing.

A further £200m has been committed by the council’s executive board for the programme’s 2026-2031 second phase.

This funding, it is anticipated, will help enable continued growth in the number of affordable homes in Leeds over the next five years, with potential sites for development during that period being subject to careful selection and consultation.

Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We are determined, as a council, to reduce inequality, build thriving communities and provide opportunities that benefit people living in every part of Leeds.

“By delivering good quality, energy efficient and affordable homes, our Council Housing Growth Programme has a vital role to play in helping us achieve that goal.

“I’m delighted, therefore, that the programme has now passed this impressive 1,000-home milestone and my thanks go to everyone who has worked so hard to get us here.

“We know there is still much to do, but can assure local residents that we are focused on delivering more of the kind of council housing that can change lives and communities for the better.”

Councillor Tom Hinchcliffe, Leeds City Council’s executive member for transport and planning, said: “The Leeds Council Housing Growth Programme has shown what can be achieved with bold, ambitious thinking allied to a carefully planned and strategic way of working.

“Building houses alone isn’t enough. We are also ensuring that new homes in Leeds meet a range of needs and, crucially, are in suitable and sustainable locations.

“Collaboration is vital. Our work alongside registered providers and other partners in the last year has driven affordable housing delivery in the city to its highest level in 30 years.

“This joined-up approach will bring continued success in the years to come, not least through the preparation of a new Leeds Local Plan with a flexible and responsive suite of policies that can support further affordable housing growth.”